Thursday, June 07, 2012

(My apologies on the lag in posts, my computer decided to take a mini-vacation.)

There are fledglings everywhere. At least one of the Astoria nest have flown the coop, according to Jules Corkery, major watcher.

And at Briarwood, one of the eyasses, fell from the nest, according to longtime watcher of Mama and Papa, Jeff Kollbrunner. Fallen eyass the fallen fledgling was under the care of wonder rehabber Cathy Horvath. The Horvath's of course were caring for and rescuing other young birds as well. Here is a recap from Bobby--

First
thing today was picking up the 3rd peregrine fledgling from a nest under the Van Wyck
/Whitestone Expressway thats right over a canal off Flushing Bay.
We received 2 yesterday from DEC law enforcement who picked them up . 1 had
frounce and todays also has frounce and more advanced than the one from
yesterday. The nest last year produced 2 young which we also rescued as they
had lead poisoning . We had to care for them too long to return to the nest so
were transfeered to Raptors Trust to condition in their round flight cage and
were later released in Staten Island months
later. Its possible this years might have to be rehabbed the same way. Blood
work was done today and we are checking these 3 for lead as well . Later in the
day Urban Park
rangers called me reporting they picked up a grounded fledgling from Astoria Park. Around 10 am 114 precinct police
responded to aid this hawk and attempted to help it gain height by tossing it
gently into the air but it dropped numreous times but was left at the location.
Rangers rescued it feeling it was not possible to be left there flightless and
I agree it was the right call for this situation. We will keep it only as long
as needed and return to trees nearby when the other 2 have both fledged and
can be tracked.

Tonight we happily report returned the first Queens fledgling
from the Queens nest Jeff and Anna Kolbrunner
monitor who fell to a lower roof on may 26. It was returned to a nearby rooftop
where the other sibling and dad both came by to visit and welcome her back to
the family.

Jeff's dedication watching this family came up with this option for
reunion and it was a success. There is no textbook as far as I know on raptor
reunions and we never stop learning potential for these cases as we continue to
try our best to accomplish these as we know parent raised young have a greater
chance of survival than human raised . New
York City having large number of eyes and ears
interested in hawkwatching and monitoring makes options like this so
possible.

Next up Jeff Kollbrunner's take on the day--

All,

We were fortunate today as a number of events came together that made it
possible to release the Briarwood fledgling on the apartment rooftop. Luckily,
the superintendent of the apartment complex is animal friendly. It also did not
hurt as it turned out I knew him from many years back and did not know he was
the superintendent of these buildings, yeah! Geoff was very cooperative and
gave me his cell number so we could spin on a dime.

I kept in close contact with Bobby today and we coordinated ahead of time how
we would proceed if I could find the first fledgling or the parents. I did the
same with Geoff. After an hour of searching at approximately 5pm I spotted the
fledgling and then called Bobby and Geoff. While waiting for Bobby to arrive I
kept observing the fledgling. Mama and Papa fed the fledgling during this time
and also moved a Turkey Vulture out of the area a bit earlier. At first I
thought it was the immature Baled Eagle frequenting the area, the light was
poor and the distance great, upon closer examination of the images later I
noticed the difference.

Bobby arrived just as the first fledgling flew over the Expressway and vacated
its spot on the rooftop. This gave us some time to setup on the roof. Shortly
after releasing the second fledgling the brother came back to check out his
sister. Eventually they flew over to the neighboring building and continued to
get reacquainted. Papa also joined them later as Mama watched from a distance.

This was a great release and I want to thank Cathy for her nursing the baby
back to health and to Bobby for his dedication and efforts as he made three
trips to Queens today from his home, our
release was his third visit. I know he was tired but the wonderful events of
this release provided some extra energy. I also want to thank Geoff who is not
on this distribution list as without his assistance we would not have had
access to the rooftop. I will provide him a print of the Briarwood Hawk family
for his office or home.

We hope all the other fledglings being observed do well - good luck to all.